Father arrested in death of infant son

Father arrested in death of infant son

Ahmad Moosa, 31, faces murder and child abuse charges in connection with the death of 6-week-old Damian Moosa. (Courtesy LVMPD)

Father arrested in death of infant son

(File, Las Vegas Review-Journal)

By COLTON LOCHHEADLAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

In his short six weeks of life, Damian Moosa’s ribs were fractured more than once.

The latest fracture was discovered after Damian died Saturday at University Medical Center. He also suffered bruising to the head and bleeding in the brain, according to an arrest report obtained Wednesday.

The infant’s father, Ahmad Moosa, couldn’t explain how his son had been injured. He was arrested Tuesday by Las Vegas police on charges of murder and child abuse in connection to his son’s death.

Police were notified of Damian’s death about 3:40 p.m. Saturday by the Clark County coroner’s office. Officers were sent to UMC to interview family members.

Moosa, described as 6 feet tall and weighing about 270 pounds, told detectives he was watching Damian while his wife was shopping that afternoon. When he went to feed Damian a bottle of formula, he found Damian’s diaper was wet and began to change him. While changing his son, Damian urinated on Moosa, according to the report.

After he finished the diaper change, Moosa went to change his clothes in the nearby bedroom, he told police. When he came out, he said he found his son in an unresponsive state with his arms locked above his head.

Moosa, who told police he had worked in a pediatrics office and was CPR trained and certified, said he tried to revive his son and called 911. North Las Vegas firefighters arrived at 3573 San Pascual Avenue, near Pecos Road and Carey Avenue, and transported Damian to UMC, where he died at 2:40 p.m. Saturday.

An autopsy performed on Sunday showed Damian had suffered two separate and distinct upper rib fractures, described by a medical examiner as “new and old,” with the older injury already healing, the report said. The autopsy also found bleeding in the brain, hemorrhaging in the eyes, and bruising to the top of his head.

The medical examiner told police that the fractures, which were near Damian’s shoulder blades, were too high and in the wrong location to be consistent with CPR or chest compressions.

When confronted with the autopsy findings by police on Tuesday, Moosa “repeatedly told the same account with no deviation,” and would not give detectives a plausible reason for what could have caused Damian’s death.

“It would be improbable that no one would know what happened to the baby and this is definitive for abuse,” Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center’s head child abuse pediatrician Dr. Sandra Cetl told police after reviewing the details of Damian’s injuries, the report said.

Police described Moosa as “devoid of any emotion,” during the interview in the report.

An official cause and manner of death will be released by the coroner’s office pending further testing.

Moosa was booked into Clark County Detention Center Tuesday and is being held without bail. His initial hearing is scheduled at 7:30 a.m. today.